Damn the Drake! (and good by Antarctica)

When we sailed through the Drake Passage on our way south, everyone said that it was so very calm!  It did not feel calm to me….  So I guess that the gods of weather decided to show me what “not calm” meant!  We had these long and deep ground swells, with some side waves…..  oh my….  Just writing this makes me feel quizzy again…  The only thing I could do was stay in bed, very still….  I was not pleasant, but at least I did not feel like I was going to die…  Although at some point during the night, dying did not feel like such a bad alternative…..

So, since I did nothing all day, there is very little to report….  Joe took some impressive pictures of the waves, from the main dining room.  

By the next morning, things were a lot quieter, and I got to enjoy sailing through the Beagle channel: On the left is Chile, on the right is Argentina.  On both sides is Patagonia - I would not mind coming back to Patagonia one of these days and do some hiking....
As a last treat, 2 dolphins jumped alongside the boat as we were having lunch  (we did not have cameras with us, but it felt as if they were wishing us well......)

We arrived in Ushuai after 2 full days of sailing from Antarctica - it is really far!








The crew did a wonderful recap of our cruise for us, full of humor and love for Antarctica and it's inhabitants- the crew was really fabulous, and made this entire experience even more special.

 We enjoyed our last dinner on the boat with Jim and Suzanne - and Irwin - a cool old dude traveling by himself.....



We said good by to Antarctica.....  it is very unlikely we will see it again.

 

 But we have thousands of pictures, we have videos,  (here is a very small selections of pictures taken by the expedition leaders),

and our own memories of penguins!!!!!  (did I mention that I love penguins?)